This Just In

Post navigation

National Sheriffs’ Association Stresses Need for Bands

The National Sheriffs’ Association board recently adopted resolution highlighting public safety’s need for the T-band, the 4.9 gigahertz band, and the 6 GHz band.

The resolution, which was adopted at the NSA’s annual conference in New Orleans, urged Congress to repeal a statutory requirement that the FCC reallocate and auction T-band spectrum by 2021 and relocate incumbents by 2023. The group said lawmakers should pass HR 5085, which would repeal a provision included in the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 requiring the T-band reallocation and auction (TR Daily, Feb. 27). The resolution also encouraged the FCC to lift its T-band licensing freeze.

The T-band encompasses TV channels 14-20 (470-512 megahertz). Public safety agencies use the spectrum in 11 major markets.

The NSA resolution also said the organization “encourages Congress and the FCC to seriously consider existing and prospective public safety operations in the 4.9 GHz band spectrum before making further decisions on the band; and … encourages the FCC to ensure full protection of 6 GHz band public safety and other critical operations from interference that could occur from opening the band to unlicensed consumer use.”

The resolution said that “the law enforcement and related public safety communities [rely] on the 4.9 GHz band to support 24/7 connections to fixed surveillance cameras increasingly necessary for law enforcement protection of the public and for secure WiFi networks not shared with consumers”; “the FCC is considering allowing unlicensed consumer operations in the 6 GHz microwave band (5.925-6.425 GHz) relied on by the nation’s law enforcement and other public safety entities, utilities, railroads and other key users for links between critical fixed locations”; and “the reliability of spectrum sharing mechanisms being considered by the FCC for the 6 GHz band have yet to be proven …”

The resolution also noted that “certain FCC Commissioners have publicly expressed a strong interest in reallocating the 4.9 GHz (4940-4990 MHz) Public Safety spectrum for commercial use …”